Online poker has been waiting in the wings for a number of years now. It has long been thought that an online gaming bill would have no problem passing in Las Vegas, and is also very close to passing in New Jersey as well, as long as a few considerations can be made to avoid another veto from Gov. Chris Christie. However now, in Las Vegas, online poker bills have been placed on the temporary hold, and it appears that federal action is expected by most. Nevada did recently passed their own online gambling law, the congressional delegation has made it clear that they are looking to get a bill done on a federal level, so that they can be more confident with moving forward with their current plans. The group is looking to avoid passing their own bill, and setting their own laws, only to have the investment be a waste if federal legislation quickly follows.
Online poker laws have come under fire Nevada recently. Oftentimes, the congressional seat within Nevada would state that they would move to get online gambling quickly done during their term, only to backtrack once they were attempting to win votes for an upcoming term. This makes the fact that the online poker building stalled in the congressional voting phase not all that surprising, and actually almost expected by many. It will be interesting to see if it is ever able to be quickly pushed through, without interference.
The hope was that the federal government would pass a bill regulating online poker, and rendering all other forms of Internet gambling to be illegal. Of course, there was opposition to this measure, on both sides of the ticket. Some did not want online gambling to become legal in any form, including poker. Others wanted there to be a broader spectrum of games available online, and to lessen the prohibition of different gambling ask online.
However, the window for them to get a bill such as that passed is quickly closing, and partisan disagreements at the federal level make it almost impossible to have any sort of confidence in a bill getting done. It is thought by many, that if action is not being taken on the bill by June or July, running it through the various subcommittees that would have to have a look at the bill before having a go of for general vote, and get it put in front of the Senate, it would take far too long to expect the bill to get done at any time in 2013.
As many as seven states have considered implementing their own measures which legalize gambling within their state. Many think that states will be allowed to open their own online gambling websites, reaping the benefits of the tax dollars that will be produced, only by individuals that are citizens within their own state. It will be interesting to see if the states begin to pass their own bills despite the fact that many are waiting for federal legislation, or to see if federal legislation begins to pick up the pace, and regulated online poker becomes a reality.